Saturday, August 18, 2018

What does it take?
...
To reach the point of no return
To say, I can't anymore
I don't even want to anymore
I need You
I want You
For ever more than now
Don't fix things for me—Fix meFix all of me or none of me
In Your mercy exact justice
I trust Your judgment—I don't trust mine

I deserve it
What ever that is

I'm more than a fool
Lost without You
Leading others astray from the Holy
Feet running swiftly toward the void
None of my paths are peace
I only know how to survive
And not very well
When You serve me justice I will need more

That stream which I poisoned

How can it be purified?
I don't trust my passions
I don't trust in flesh anymore

I used You as my crutch

I polluted wells
For fun or out of spite
You were elevator music to me
I never had to learn Your rhythm
You were just there in the background

For my listening pleasure
Or to annoy me
As evil as that sounds
It's true

Now I don't want to live without You
Have mercy on me
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies

Heal my soul
For I have sinned against You
Give me life or give me death
I know what I deserve
Whatever You choose
Do so for the sake of Your name alone
My name isn't worthy
Uproot and plant anew
Kill and make alive

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

At nights and at the dawn of day, I bow before the great radiance of the light of your lovelinessLight unfailing you allowed to dawn upon me, letting me tell everyone of your wonders with fitting loyalty, each one in their proper seasonIn the name of the father who made you a jewel of his heart, and of the son who veiled himself with your flesh, and of the spirit whose hovering over you brought sweet and glorious new creation, I sing to youSacrifice I offer you, my lady, even the fullness of praise that my heart can conceive, and my mind able to performO lady, my garden that brings forth aromatic herbs and pleasant aromas, my summer and spring, you are my portico of prayer, my festoon of heavenlinessNight and day I beseech you, my lady, that I may enter your sanctuary, where I am protected from the whispering of those who malign and slander, and find rest from the tongue of the proud who find fault in me

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Who really knows science so called?Scientia potentia est is the theoretical dictum
Spinning faster than the speed of sound
Spiraling through an infinite vacuum
Perusing across this terra firma
All is fine as long as one giant leap is made on behalf of mankind

Satellites everywhere now fill our eyes with wonder and glory
The ideocracy of globulizing and scientizing reality captivates us
The opposite of joy is unearthed once we begin to question authority

Just as water within its container always finds its own level
So the atomization of everything razes the science of being
Who cares if material presupposes existence?
The electromagnetism and sacramentality of it all still remains
After the mushroom cloud dissipates and the trending tweets die downIndwelling the personal is what we really need to know and be known

Existence is what science needs for every one to be known at all

Like the two things every monk is taught to avoid at all costs
Sacramentality and its authority are what scientism must deflect our attention away from

The plane truth underlies it all while the dreams of man dominate one small step at a time

Potentia est scientia is the official praxis
Who really sciences knowledge so called?

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Slow down your thoughts, hazed and needy to escape.Slow down your anxieties, apprehended by the motives of others.Slow down your ambitions, carrying you off to a place of honor and glory.Slow down your busyness, distracting you from prayer every hour.Slow down your feet, swift to walk toward convenience.Slow down your hands, pointing and prodding in other directions.Slow down your eyes, zoomed in to what's wrong with the world.Slow down your ears, tuned into scandal and hearsay.Slow down your mouth, regurgitating popular dogma.Slow down bothering with who's wrong and who's right.Slow down and concern yourself only with what is true or false.Slow down everything.Then ask, 'Why is anyone morally obligated to believe or do what is true?'

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

I am weary, O God.1I am weary, O God, but I can persevere.Indeed, I am too dull of a man to discern.For I have reached my limit and I don't even have the understanding of Adam.I have not yet learned wisdom, but I know it can be attained.Who on earth has gone up to you to bring wisdom down to us?Who has walked the recesses of the deep?Who has comprehended every detail of land?Who has entered the storehouses of snow and hail?What is his name, and what is his son's name?Surely You know!Our lives are filled with various trials and dangers.And so You say, "Take refuge in Me."Even if we don't consider every word of Yours to be true.Even if You rebuke us when we add words to the invitation.Every word proves true.Our lies are found out.Oh God, please consider helping me by granting two things before I die. I need deliverance from my most basic temptations--those of falsehood and lying. If I only had daily bread, the bread sufficient for each day.I wouldn't be tempted to suppress You or transgress Your law in times of poverty or wealth.I wouldn't be tempted to slander your servants to their employers. I have done that before, and ultimately to my shame.Every generation seems to act shamefully as I have.There is cursing of fathers and mothers.There is hypocrisy in how they view others while not seeing their own filth.There is great audacity and condemnation in their eyes.There is a relentless disregard for even the poorest of souls.As long as that is what it takes to remain wise in their own eyes,They're like the blood sucking leech and their spawn, crying out, "Give! Give!"I ponder this vast domain of Yours, and the way they strive for satisfaction without You.They're insatiable, like the grave or the womb which can't even produce life.They're like parched land or an entire valley on fire.Their eyes lead them into shameful desolation.They could look for the wisdom from above, but they won't.This mortal existence, and all its wisdom down here, is the only viewing they take pleasure in.Many more things astonish me, and I don't understand how they can continue living as they do.They rationalize their adulteries away, as though they have done no wrong.They feast on violence and then wipe the blood off their lips, leaving no trail behind.Like an eagle in the sky, or a snake slithering across a rock.Like a ship in the heart of the ocean, or the way of a successful man with an impressionable woman.The whole land trembles over such disordered desires.The weight of it all cannot be sustained forever.Consider the slave who finally becomes Emperor.Or the senseless fool, filled with food at the celebration of his coronation. Or the servant-girl who, somehow, some way, displaces her Queen.Or the lady whom we all thought would never get married because of how insufferable she often is.Do you think she will magically change overnight in her wisdom once she receives a husband?Even many frail animals serve as lessons of wisdom for us mortals.The ants prepare for bad times during good times.The rock badgers provide security for each other.The locusts cooperate together. The geckos are defenseless, but they live in well-fortified palaces.There is also a proper grandeur which God has given to His creation.The lion, mightiest of beasts, retreats before nothing.The rooster walks bravely among female hens.The hunting-dog is another, as well as the king whose army is with him.As long as mortals remain wise in their own eyes, foolishly exalting themselves above others,Instead of being exalted by others,We can only hope that they cover their mouths while talking.Raging against others will only provoke further strife, of which we have plenty already.Rules and prescriptions alone are not able to fix the brokenness all around us.2Libraries of law won't suffice for the healing of generations either.Only the wisdom from above can come down and save us.The wisdom from below is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.If any of us lacks wisdom from above, ask God for it.He gives generously to all those who do so, and without rebuke or disapproval.But be sure to ask in loyal trust of the One you're asking,With no doubting about what you receive as being from the Lord.If you remain double-minded in your loyalty, don't presume that you'll receive anything from Him.Let the lowly brother boast in being exalted by Him.And the rich brother boast in being humbled by Him.Because like a flower of the field, each will pass away.

1. The inspiration for this comes directly from my reflections upon the Book of Proverbs, chapter 30, and the Book of Wisdom, chapter 2.2. The inspiration for this comes from the book of James.

Drop in your dollar fifty
The game is the same every day
The scorpion plays with smoke
The reptile with rain
One of them must loseNone must show friendship
As long as you're invested
There is no option of stalemate
Many just enjoy ripping spines out
But the wisdom from below doesn't always satisfy
Some need alternatives to fatality
There must be a way to tap into that above
Some combination of buttons and joystick
Some magazine wrapped in plastic
Some compact disc taped to the last page
What has the Programmer left us to discover?
Such is the riddling in search of friendship
Be not wise in your own eyes, is the clue

Monday, December 11, 2017

What can be said to the sycophant?
He welcomes you into his abode for a friendly discussion
Offers kindness and sincerity
Chatters about all the good done in their name

What can be said to the facile?
He shows concern for the neighbor's pet
Cares about the widow and orphan too
Hates the God who kills and makes alive

What can be said to the pedant?
He ascends to the right hand of his father only to mock his face
Slays the younger brother just because he can
Justifies infanticide on his own terms, while mocking the God who passes over the innocent

What can be said to the Atheist?
He reasons like a fundamentalist
Wages war with imaginary gods
He eats and wipes his mouth and says, 'I have done no wrong.'

What can be said to the Christian?
He made this mess, but wants others to clean it up
Prescribes drugs to all patients, not even knowing each person or side effect
Immunizes every infant in their care to prevent disease from spreading

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Of course I believe it's trueWhy? Don't you?Of course notOnly an idiot could believe thatFrogs don't become princes you knowNever in a million years could all that be possibleArcheologists all agreeEvery biology textbook is clearJust ask your friendly neighborhood geologistThey'll tell youFrogs don't become princesNever in a million yearsBut what about The Book?What about it?It's His. And He says it's true.No, it doesn't say that. Andit's not "His".Yes. It is.No, it is most certainly not "His"You've been brainwashed to think thatReligious people invented the "Book"They chose it to suit their imaginary theodicyThey just wanted to overpower the weak and vulnerableIt's all a power struggle, that's allThat Book is just like every other book on earth: humanly craftedYou can't magically turn a human book into a Divine OneNo matter what you call itFrogs don't become princesNot even in a billion yearsBut what about all the devout worshipers across the globe?And all the miracles from above?And all the apparitions? And all the answered prayers?Do you think they all believe in fairy tales?Unfortunately, yesBut cheer upNot everything is gloomy just because that One turned out to be a jokeWe humans still get to craft our own destinyFor a long time there has been hope dawning at the end of another tunnelThe tides have turned considerably since those ancient myths of His became factsThe four rivers flow westward now, to where our seeds were planted and nurtured a century agoAll the trimming and grooming over here is finishedFaithful groundskeeping is all that's needed nowThe trees are fully grown and bearing fruit each yearPleasant to the sight of all, and good for foodSome now even say that its fruit is able to make one wiseThe Mythicists even crafted a clever little ditty in that regard:

'Rejoice all ye lands and do not look grim

With oodles of time on our side

And laws of Nature to guide

Myriads of self-purposed mutations later

And with only One common ancestor

Frogs actually did become princesand without any need for Him'

Despite tiny inconsistencies here and thereWe no longer feel the need to challenge those who guard and keep our gardenSuch ditties are kind of charming, actuallyAnd it rhymes**Jon Sedlak, 11/26/17